The Opelousas courier., 1887-04-30
GOING TO FIRES.
East Time Made by the New
York Firernen.
BATTLING on Their Way a Few Seconds
After the Alarm Gong Strikes.

The sharp clang of the big alarm gong
rang through the cosey quarters OF Capt.
Rafferty's Fire Patrol, No 8, in West
Thirtieth street, on Friday night. In
stantly the horses dashed to the patrol
truck shafts with a swift chatter, and just
as swiftly driver Abram Lyell was in his
seat, and had the heavy reins grasped
tightly in his brawny hands. His appear
ance in his place was so sudden that 1t
looked like magic. The gong had struck
but a single stroke of the alarm when ne
sprang from his bed, on the second floor,
and came slap bang through q trap door
in the ceiling, just like a harlequin in
the pantomime. 1t took him less than
nine seconds to leave his bed and start
the horses out with a rush from the
patrol house. Driver E. s. Root, who
rides with him, was just as swift in drop
ping down beside him. The beauty Of
the performance was that it wasn't an
exhibition test, either, but a bona tide
answer to a call to q fire at Tenth avenue
and Thirty-seventh street.
The way Drivers Lyell and Root leap
through the trap door every time there
is a fire is an improvement in speedy pre-
paration for responding to fire calls that
is at present exclusively the proud feature
Of Capt. Rsfferty's wide awake company.
The trap il cut in the ceiling Immediately
pver the drivers seat on the heavy truck.
It is surrounded on the floor above by a
polished brass railing four feet high, that
shines like a mirror. The drivers beds
are right beside this railing. When an
alarm sounds at night they spring from
their beds together, seize the railing, and
let their bodies dr,phoriz ntally through
The trap. The instant the door opens
they let go and catch a second brass bar
itted into the ceiling, like an acrobat
dropping from one trapeze to another
This second bar balances them and pre-
vents them from falling forward in their
ive-foot drop to the truck seat. A
weight attached to a pulley rope shuts
the trap door with q bang the moment
they disappear through the trap. The
whole device works as smoothly
and quickly that it is only a question
Of time when the trap will be intro
duced in all the engine houses in
town. It saves some seconds of time lost
in shining down the brass sliding poles
and clambering to the seat IN the en-
gines. In exhibition drills Drivers Ly-
ell and Root have been able to drop to
their seats and started the truck in less
than two seconds, which is ahead of any
thing in the patrol truck manning.
Every day the brave fire laddies of
Gotham are getting to be more expert
in swiftly answering fire alarms, and are
on the lookout for improvements that
will cut down shorter the few seconds at
present occupied in hltching up horses
and starting the engines or trucks rafting
on their way to the fire. The sliding
pole was an improvement on the old
fashioned pell NELL rush down the stairs
that saved nearly a minute of prepara-
tion. Quick dressing is n of the fea-
lures of fire laddie activity nowadays
that fills every layman with amazement.
The laddies have got the business down
to such o science that they literally jump
into their clothes. Every fireman goes
to bed with his red fire shirt on. His
trousers are always kept tucked into the
legs of his heavy rubber boots, and when
he retires he simply let's the trousers
slide off him and down over the boot
leg and then steps out of the boots.
When he wants to dress he steps back
into the boots again, yanks the trousers
up around his waist, fastens them with
a spring buckle, and makes dashes for
the sliding pole, quick as a wink, COM
pletely dressed.-Ncso Yerk San.
-E ~